Thinclads Snag Second in Bostons

The Harvard men's and women's track and field teams each finished in second place in the Greater Boston Indoor Track and Field Championships held at the Gordon Track and Tennis Center Friday and Saturday.

The men were outpointed by Northeastern University, 97-58, but finished ahead of Boston College by two points to capture the second spot, while the women were topped only by a strong B.C. team, 98-76.

Captain Erin Sugrue turned in a stunning performance for the Crimson women, winning the high jump, triple jump and the 60-yard dash and breaking a Harvard and meet record in the pentathlon with a whopping 3428 points.

Sophomores Laura Blodgett (2579 points) and Nancy Lutz (2209) took fourth and fifth in the pentathlon.

The two runners' performance in the pentathlon were especially impressive since neither Blodgett nor Lutz had ever competed in the grueling five-part event before.

"As of Tuesday, we had no pentathletes," Harvard Coach Frank Haggerty said. Blodget and Lutz had practiced for the event this week.

Sugrue won three events: the high jump with a jump of 5-ft., 8-in., the triple jump with a jumps of 11.76 meters, and the 60-yd. hurdles in 8.37.

"She's a superior athlete and a great leader in all respects," Haggerty said.

The women were aided by topnotch performances by freshman Meredith Rainey--who took third in the 440-meter race in 57.70 and fourth in the 220 in 26.4--and sophomore Katie Toner, who took second in the two-mile run with a time of 10:59.0.

The women defeated B.C. in a meet two weeks ago, but that victory was in a smaller meet in which a deep Harvard squad was able to double-and triple-up in events.

"When you have so many teams with such good athletes, you don't need as much depth," Haggerty said.

For the men, sophomore Paul Kent won the mile in 4:10.76, while junior James Russell snatched the 35-lb. Weight event with a throw of 61-ft., 11-in.

Senior Paul Gompers broke Kent's school record in the 5000 meters with a time of 14:01.29, but finished behind Clive Tulloh of B.U. in the race.

The men gave N.U. a better run for the gold than they did in a 101-35 loss to the Huskies three weeks ago.

"That was a dual meet," Kent said," and we're much better suited for larger meets."

On the whole, the meet was a success for both Harvard teams.

"Considering we're coming off of exams and competing against scholarship schools, we're doing really well," sophomore Jackie Ball said.